This past weekend, a pair of big MMA events took place on free TV in the form of Bellator 194 and UFC Fight Night Austin.
Bellator 194 was up first on Friday Night and the card was headlined by Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione, with an average of 555,000 viewers checking out the Paramount Network aired event. The main event fight between Nelson and Mitrione brought in the most viewers, with 775,000 people checking that encounter out.
UFC Fight Night Austin aired on Sunday Night and the ratings are in for the Fox Sports 1 televised event, which saw an average of 893,000 viewers check out the card headlined by Donald Cerrone and Yancy Medeiros. The six fight main card also streamed live online via Fox Sports Go and Fox Now, bringing in another 13,959 viewers.
Other fights on the main card saw Derrick Lewis defeat Marcin Tybura, James Vick defeat Francisco Trinaldo, Curtis Millender defeat Thiago Alves, Brandon Davis defeat Steven Peterson and Sage Northcutt defeat Thibault Gouti.
It was the main card opener between Northcutt and Gouti that brought the most viewers in for the main card, with 1,078,000 people checking that encounter out.
A four fight main card also aired on Fox Sports 1, with Carlos Diego Ferreira and Jared Gordon in the featured spot, a total of 675,000 viewers checked out that action. Fox Sports Go and Fox Now also streamed the card, with another 14,466 viewers checking it out through that medium.
The pre-fight show aired on FS1 and that drew 131,000 viewers, while the post-fight show on FS1 brought in another 202,000 viewers.
Up next for the UFC is UFC On Fox 28, with Josh Emmett and Jeremy Stephens headlining, while there is no Bellator MMA action this weekend.
